Association Between Monounsaturated Fatty Acid Intake and Risk of Total Stroke and Its Subtypes: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.

Context: There are contradictory results regarding the relationship between dietary intakes of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and risk of stroke.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to review the existing body of research on the relationship between MUFA consumption and stroke risk through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Source: PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science were all systematically searched up to January 2023.

Data Extraction: A total of 11 prospective cohort studies that investigated MUFA consumption in relation to stroke risk were included.

Data Analysis: Relative risk (RR) and 95% CIs for the highest vs lowest category of dietary MUFA intake were combined using a random-effects model. Linear and nonlinear dose-response relations were assessed through 1-stage weighted mixed-effects meta-analysis. These studies included 475 207 participants and 8438 cases. In highest vs lowest consumption analysis, MUFA intake was inversely associated with total stroke (RR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.67, 0.96; I2 =65.2%, Q-test P = .001; n = 11) and hemorrhagic stroke (RR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.68, 0.95; I2 = 0.0%, Q-test P = .77; n = 5) risk. Conversely, this association was not significant for ischemic stroke (RR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.69, 1.07; I2 =62.3%, Q-test P = .01; n = 8). An inverse association was observed between each 10-g/d MUFA intake and hemorrhagic stroke (RR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.65, 0.96) but not total and ischemic stroke. We did not find any evidence for a nonlinear association between MUFA intake and total stroke and its subtypes.

Conclusion: This meta-analysis shows that higher MUFA intake could lower the risk of total and hemorrhagic, but not ischemic, stroke. This could be important for public health.

Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42023458555.